The aurora borealis could grace the skies of northern New York on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, if a solar storm delivers in fierceness and the weather cooperates.
Several northern U.S. states may briefly see faint auroras Thursday night and early Friday, according to Mike Bettwy, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If clouds clear up and the predicted solar storm is intense enough, the window to view the northern lights falls between 10 p.m. Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday.
Northern New York and possibly New York City could see the northern lights, though viewing will be best for those in Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine. Northern parts of Idaho, Wyoming, New Hampshire and Vermont could also be treated to the dazzling display.
While it can be hard to predict the exact time and probability of the northern lights, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has posted an Aurora Dashboard for sky aficionados to monitor the proceedings, as well as a 30-minute forecast, along with maps of where the lights could appear around the world.
“Auroras are a spectacular sign that our planet is electrically connected to the sun,” NASA says in a primer on the subject. “These light shows are provoked by energy from the sun and fueled by electrically charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field.”
NASA announced last month the sun had reached the maximum phase of its 11-year solar cycle, a period when Earth’s star goes from calm to “an active and stormy state.” The height of the sun’s cycle makes for more frequent solar surges and the increased possibility of viewing the northern lights. Experts said this period could persist for another year.
The aurora borealis made a spectacular appearance around the tristate area in May, and again in October.
With News Wire Services
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